Weekly Update Saturday 20th May 2023

Have Your Say

What do you think about Wiltshire’s Short Breaks Scheme

In response to conversations the WPCC has been having with Wiltshire Council commissioners about the Short Breaks Scheme, we are running some sessions in June to give parent carers an opportunity to come and talk about the Scheme.

We know the Short Breaks Scheme works for some people, but also there are challenges for some families and we want to talk about this. For instance: -

What’s good about the Scheme?
Is the Payment Option working?
Could changes be made to the Scheme to enable more children and young people to access it?
Is there anything that could be done differently?

The sessions will take place on the following dates: -

Friday 9^th June - Calne
Thursday 15^th June - Salisbury
Friday 16^th June - Marlborough

All sessions will run from 10am until 2pm, parent carers will be able to claim travel expenses, refreshments and a simple buffet lunch will be provided. Venue details are on the booking form.

Further details are on the attached flyer (Short Breaks Scheme – June 2023). To book without looking at the flyer, click BOOK.

Are you a Parent or Carer of an Early Years aged Child with Special Needs or a Disability?

The Wiltshire Parent Carer Council is inviting parent carers of early years children to join us for an informal chat over coffee and cake. We would love to meet you and hear about your current early years experiences.

What’s working well? Are there any barriers? What does transition from early years into school feel like for you?

We are working with Wiltshire Council and your feedback will help to inform some of the specialist services for early years children in Wiltshire.

The sessions will take place as follows: -

Monday 19th June – Salisbury - 12.00pm to 2.00pm
Friday 23rd June – Calne - 10.30am to 12.30pm
Tuesday 27th June – Marlborough - 10.30am to 12.30pm

Parent carers will be able to claim travel expenses, refreshments will be provided. Venue details are on the booking form.

Further details are on the attached flyer (Early Years Engagement Sessions – June 2023). To book without looking at the flyer, click BOOK.

Healthwatch Wiltshire Survey for Autistic People and their Relatives/Carers

Healthwatch Wiltshire would like to find out what autistic people, and their families and carers, think about mental health services in the county. Working in partnership with Wiltshire Service Users’ Network (WSUN), which runs the National Lottery funded Wiltshire Autism Hub, we want to learn more about the experiences of autistic people, aged 14 and over, who have accessed mental health support in Wiltshire in the last three years, and what they think could be better. We would also like to find out the experiences of carers and relatives in helping the autistic person they care for to get this support.

We have launched two surveys which can be completed online, by phone, or on paper.

If you would like to share your views and would like support to complete the survey, or would like a paper copy to be sent to you, please contact Healthwatch Wiltshire on 01225 434218 or info@healthwatchwiltshire.co.uk or WSUN on 01380 871800 or info@wsun.co.uk and we will arrange this for you.

both surveys will be open until Wednesday 14 June

PDA Survey

The PDA society wants to gain a more complete understanding of what life is like for the PDA (Pathological Demand Avoidance) community and what challenges you face. They will use what they learn to advocate for the community and to ensure their work is focusing on the right things.

The PDA society is inviting anyone aged 17 or over who identifies with a PDA profile/as a 'PDAer' to complete their survey. The survey is also open to parents, carers or partners of PDA people. You don't need to have a formal diagnosis of PDA to participate.

The survey will take between 15 and 30 minutes to complete, depending on how much you'd like to complete. The survey will be open until Wednesday 31^st May 2023.

Click SURVEY to participate. Click WEBSITE to visit the PDA society website, which includes free to download resources.

Wiltshire CIL – Direct Payment Workshops

Do you receive a Direct Payment, or are you interested in having a Direct Payment?

Join one of the workshops being run by Wiltshire Centre for Independent Living (Wilts CIL) to share your ideas and views. More information about the sessions is on the attached poster (Wiltshire CIL Direct Payment Workshops).

Reproductive Health Services in Wiltshire

The Wiltshire Public Health Team would like to understand how local contraception services in Wiltshire are meeting the needs of the local population of reproductive age.

They are especially asking all residents aged between 15 and 49 to complete their survey and they would really welcome hearing from young carers, and any other individuals like young people and those in vulnerable groups, about their experiences and thoughts regarding reproductive services in Wiltshire, through the survey.

The survey should take no longer than 10-15 minutes to complete and will close on Wednesday 31^st May 2023.

The results from the survey are anonymous, all information provided will help inform service planning and delivery for contraception services in Wiltshire. The information will be recorded and analysed on Wiltshire Council approved systems and held by the Public Health Team in compliance with current Data Protection Legislation.

Click HERE to go to the survey.

Help Wiltshire Council Create a Guide for Primary and Secondary-aged Children

Wiltshire Council are planning to create a guide for Primary and Secondary school aged children. The guide will support children and young people to think about what might support them in moving onto Secondary school and other key points in time when growing up. Thinking about your own experiences please take a few minutes to complete the survey below which will help Wiltshire Council to build a guide for young people. Making sure they have your voice is important and they thank you for your support in advance.

Survey for children/ young people:

Survey for parent carers:

Survey closes 16^th June 2023.

General Feedback (see attached form)

If you have any general feedback you would like to share, please telephone us on: 01225 764647 or send an email to: admin@wiltspcc.co.uk. Please be assured that when we share feedback with services, we never identify the person who gave the feedback, unless we have their consent to do so.

When sharing your feedback, it is often helpful to know:-

Which part of Wiltshire you live in? (North, South etc.)
How old your child/young person is?
Consent to share your contact details? (optional) This is so we can work with service providers to address issues with you individually.

You may prefer to complete the attached feedback form, send us an email or call us to give your feedback.

Events and Information

What’s On Parent Carer Calendar May 2023

For a full list of training/events/support groups for May for parent carers, please see our What’s On Calendar for more details: What's On Calendar

Farm House Festival – July 2023

Able Hands Farm & the Lockdown Festival team are putting on a weekend festival situated on a working farm in the beautiful Wiltshire countryside. On the weekend of July 7th, 8th and 9th we will be bringing together local artists and DJ’s to provide you with a weekend of family oriented fun along with a dance music soundtrack.

There will be lots going on and entertainment all the way for adults and kids of all ages. Food and drink will be readily available.

On site camping for 2 nights (Friday and Saturday) is included in the Weekend ticket cost, with enough on site maintained facilities for everyone.

The fun starts on Friday night with a chance for people to pitch their tents, music starts at 6pm. More music throughout Saturday (more details to follow). Sunday will be a chance to wake up slowly and nurse some sore heads with the marquee playing some chilled beats till midday. Gates closing 3pm

They’re so excited to put this event on, it’s all for the magnificent Able Hands Together and their performers are giving up their time for free in order to raise much needed funds.

Book your tickets HERE or see the attached poster for more info.

Science Museum Events In London

Early Birds

Saturday 24 June 2023 | 08.00 - 10.00

Early Birds is a sensory friendly event for families with members who benefit from visiting the museum outside regular hours, free from the hustle and bustle of the general public. As well as exploring some of the galleries and taking part in fun activities, you can also visit Wonderlab: The Equinor Gallery at a reduced price

Book Now

Night Owls

Saturday 27 May 2023 | 18.30 - 21.30

Night Owls is a sensory friendly evening for young adults and adults (ages 16+) who need a quieter environment to enjoy the museum. Taking place on selected dates across the year, we open the museum exclusively after hours, and wherever possible will have adjusted operations and/or lowered volume levels on exhibits.

As well as exploring some of the galleries, you can enjoy a selection of fun activities across the museum and book tickets to lower capacity sessions in Science Fiction: Voyage to the Edge of Imagination at a reduced price.

Book now

SENsory Astronights

Saturday 19 August 2023 19.15 - Sunday 20 August 10.00

Explore the museum, take part in some fun workshops, watch an exciting science show, and then sleep in one of our galleries! Experience the wonder of the current sci-fi season of Astronights in a more relaxed setting. Throughout the event there will be quiet spaces available for those who need to take a break.

Book Now

Call Scotland – App Wheel for learners with Dyslexia

Their famous app wheel has been updated! It is designed to help when it comes to narrowing down the choice of thousands of literacy support apps out there.

Download the new version HERE

PDA Society – What is PDA?

This short video gives a quick introduction to PDA (Pathological Demand Avoidance) and was created to help raise awareness with the general public and convey some essential information about PDA in a quick and easily shareable format. Watch the video HERE

For more information, please visit their WEBSITE

PDA Society – Email Template

The PDA Society have shared an email template which can be personalised and used to inform the people and professionals in your life about Pathological Demand Avoidance and the approaches that help!

More information HERE

Community Connecting Job Vacancy

Wiltshire Council Community Connecting Team is advertising a job vacancy for a Community Coordinator to join their Community Connecting Team.

They are looking for an enthusiastic, active, adaptable and organised person to focus on independent travel training with young people with disabilities, supporting independence to access their school, college, or alternative provision. The role will involve working with young people with disabilities, parents and support networks, liaising with schools, colleges, Wiltshire Council’s passenger transport team, SEND transport team and other professionals to ensure a seamless support is provided. You will have experience of supporting and working with young people who have additional needs and you will be required to work before and after school/college hours, as travel training will be conducted in real time.

Interviews will be held on Tuesday 6^th June 2023.

More information about the job vacancy can be found HERE.

Exciting opportunity for Youth People 14-25 to join Wiltshire & Swindon Youth Commission on Police and Crime.

Leaders Unlocked are currently recruiting young people to join the Wiltshire & Swindon Youth Commission on Police and Crime – an exciting initiative in partnership with the Police and Crime Commissioner for Wiltshire.

The Youth Commission will explore urgent issues affecting young people in Wiltshire & Swindon, such as reducing offending and re-offending, improving the relationship with the police, and anti-social behavior.

This is a brilliant opportunity for young people to gain new knowledge, skills and experiences that focuses on the views of young people in Wiltshire. Members of the Youth Commission will play an important role in helping to run consultation events and gather the opinions of other young people about police and crime.

Please see attachments Wiltshire & Swindon Youth for guidance notes and application form, if you have any questions please email Anya at Anya@leaders-unlocked.org

Application Deadline: Friday 26^th May 2023

Swimming Pools at Wiltshire Leisure Centres Are Becoming More Accessible

Wiltshire Council have installed Pool-Pods across its leisure centres, making swimming pools more accessible for disabled customers and anyone who may struggle to access swimming independently.

Pool-Pods provide dignified and independent access for swimmers who find it hard to get in or out of the swimming pool, such as wheelchair users, older adults, pregnant women and those with limited mobility. Unlike a traditional pool hoist, the user can independently control the operation, using a specially designed wristband, without the need for a pool attendant's intervention.

See what Pool-Pods look like HERE.

Poolpods can be found at the following leisure centres:

Five Rivers Health and Wellbeing Centre

Devizes Leisure Centre

The Activity Zone

Marlborough Leisure Centre

The Vale Pewsey

Melksham Community Campus

Olympiad Leisure Centre

For further information please contact the centre of interest directly.

Autism Partnership – Autistic Voices Needed

Wiltshire Autism Partnership is inviting people aged 18 years old and over to attend the next Autism Partnership meeting on

Monday 22^nd May (9.30am to 10.30am) Online - Teams

The Topic is Group Agreement – asking autistic people and families how they would like the sessions to run and what’s important to them for our sessions agreement.

email partnership email for teams link

Please see attachments for more details.

Wiltshire Autism Assessment Service (WAAS) Monthly Email Newsletters

If you have a child on the diagnostic pathway with the Wiltshire Autism Assessment Service, you can now sign up for the WAAS monthly email newsletters which contain signposting, advice, new resources and service updates.

To sign up, please email the Single Point of Access (SPA): vcl.wiltshirespa@nhs.net with your details and preferred email address.

Have you Seen Wiltshire Council’s SEND Newsletter?

Wiltshire Council has launched its own SEND newsletter, with the aim of providing information on SEND matters in Wiltshire.

You can find the latest Wiltshire Council SEND newsletter on the Local Offer website or you can receive copies by email as they are published, if you sign up HERE.

Contact's Brighter Beginnings Workshops - FREE

Contact is offering a number of free online/virtual workshops for parent carers of children and young people aged 0-16 with additional needs. The workshops are available thanks to funding from a range of funding sources. The workshops are free virtual one-off sessions and it is hoped that Contact may be able to offer in-person workshops again in the future, once it is appropriate to do so.

‘Regional workshops’ are for families who live in those areas only, due to funding arrangements.

Click on the workshop links on the website to book onto your chosen workshop/s.Not all workshops have dates yet, but new dates are continually being added, so if there is not a workshop available suitable for you, please revisit the website.

The workshops are very popular so please book early to avoid disappointment.

Contact’s Free Parent Carer Listening Ear Service

You might be struggling emotionally and looking for strategies to help you cope. Maybe you just need to talk to someone who understands the extra challenges you face and who can point you in the right direction to get the support you need for your family.

To help, Contact offer 1-1 telephone appointments with a family support adviser for parent carers looking for a listening ear, reassurance and practical and emotional support (see attached flyer).

Contact have released a video and podcast that explains the listening Ear Service in more detail.

You can watch the video on YouTube HERE or listen to the podcast HERE.

Making an appointment for the listening ear service is simple: choose the day (morning, afternoon or evening), and when you register choose the time slot you want. Appointments are regularly updated and are subject to availability.

The service aims to provide approximately 3 calls to Parent Carers before they are able to signpost you elsewhere for further support. If you are dealing with a specific issue that requires continuity and consistency, Contact will take this into consideration. Please get in touch for more information.

Book a Listening Ear Call

South Wilts Mencap Newsletter

South Wilts Mencap supports people with learning disabilities in South Wiltshire; inspring them to achieve their full potential and enabling them and their families to lead fuller lives. They support families in the South and Salisbury region of Wiltshire. They support with clubs, activities, fun days, short breaks and more.

CLICK HERE to have a look at their recent newsletter.

Contacting the WPCC

WPCC Phone Line 2023.

Our phone lines continue to be open as normal (10.00am – 5.00pm) and the number to access the WPCC SENDIS team remains as: 01225 764647.

When you call, it is likely that your call will be answered by one of our telephone triage workers who will take basic details of your enquiry and pass it on to a member of the team. If you cannot get through, please leave a message with your name and contact number, or email and we will call you back as soon as possible; please be mindful there are times when our phone lines can be extremely busy.

If you cannot get through on the phone, you can email us: admin@wiltspcc.co.uk

You can find previous WPCC newsletters here: Previous Newsletters

Keep safe and well,

The WPCC Team

Title Colour Key For Newsletter Black - New article added this week or staying in the newsletter Purple - Article retained from last week (reminder) Red - Article will be not be in the newsletter next week (final reminder)
In This Week's Issue...
BREAKING NEWS	Secondary Schools Resource Base Update
HAVE YOUR SAY	What do you think about Wiltshire’s Short Breaks Scheme Secondary Schools Resource Base Update Healthwatch Wiltshire Survey for Autistic people and their Relatives/Carers PDA Survey Reproductive Health Services in Wiltshire Wiltshire CIL – Direct Payment Workshops Help Wiltshire Council Create a Guide for Primary and Secondary-aged Children Feedback Form (see attached form)
CORONAVIRUS INFORMATION	Are you Concerned that your Child Might be Experiencing Long COVID Symptoms?
ACTIVITIES FOR CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE	AVAILABLE NOW: WPCC May 2023 Short Breaks Bulletin What’s On Children/Young People's Calendar
EVENTS AND INFORMATION	What’s On Parent Carer Calendar May 2023 Farm House Festival – July 2023 Science Museum Events In London Call Scotland – App Wheel for learners with Dyslexia PDA Society – What is PDA? PDA Society – Email Template Community Connecting Job Vacancy Exciting opportunity for Youth People 14-25 to join Wiltshire & Swindon Youth Commission on Police and Crime. Swimming Pools at Wiltshire Leisure Centres Are Becoming More Accessible Autism Partnership – Autistic Voices Needed Wiltshire Autism Assessment Service (WAAS) Monthly Email Newsletters Have you Seen Wiltshire Council’s SEND Newsletter? Contact's FREE Brighter Beginnings Workshops . Contact’s FREE Parent Carer Listening Ear Service (flyer attached) South Wilts Mencap Bulletin